That has not been the case over the past two years. Invitations to the Academy, at least at the Youth level, were sent to the entirety, or at least the majority, of the NTSC. Furthermore, this year the name was changed to the ‘Winter Pipeline Evaluation Camp’ (for both Cadets and Youth), and the invitee list was even broader than the NTSC.
All aforementioned invitees participate in the first two weekends of the Academy (usually in December and January). The process then continues into the NL roster and a handful of subsequent weekends, where players are selected based on their performance in those initial sessions, with the rare addition of players from the ODP. While the ODP and NTSC run in parallel, it appears that the NTSC has become the primary pathway for selecting travel teams.
The expansion of Academy, and potentially the name change, is likely part of USA WP to expand the athletes development opportunities and generate revenue. From the spectrum of events and camps offered by USA WP, Academy has been an excellent development opportunity and well run with high level coaching.